Unit-frame for concrete construction.



No. 890,034. PATENTED JUNE 9, 1908. J. 0. ELLINGER.

UNIT FRAME FOR CONCRETE CONSTRUCTION.

APPLICATION FILED MBA, 19m.- v

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J. C. BLLINGER. UNIT FRAME FOR CONCRETE CONSTRUCTION.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 4. 1907- 2 SHEBTS SHEET 2.

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' many different forms which may be pro' JULIAN O. ELLING'ER, OF NEW YORIQN. Y.

UNIT-FRAME FOR CONCRETE CONSTRUCTION.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented June 9, 1908.

Application filed March 4, 1907. Serial No. 360,311.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JULIAN 0. ELLINGER,

in the city, county, and State of New York, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Unit Frames for Concrete Construction, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to improvements in reinforcements for beams and girders, having their body portions composed of concrete or analogous plastic materials.

It particularly relates to the type of reii forcements commonly known as unit bars or frames.

In a copending a lication filed by me Sep. 18, 1906, Serial umber 335,112 I have shown, described and claimed a'reinforcement for concrete and other cementitious material having many features common to that of the present case, and for these reasons such features are not broadly claimed herein. The present case more especially relates to, and is distinguished from my former case in that it includes, unit bars or frames of a form in which theside elements or tension members are each composed of a plurality of rods or bars connected with each other by a web throughout a ortion of their length and in which also theToops or straps are connected with each other between their ends; the objects being to improve in these particulars the construction formerly illustratcd.

In the accompanying drawings I have shown several forms of unit'bars or frames and. I wish it understood'at the outset, that these forms are merely illustrative of some of duced within the spirit and scope of the present invention. I

Referring to the drawings, Figure 1 is a perspective view of a blank from which any of the different forms of unit bars or frames shown in the accompanying drawings may be produced. Fig. 2 is a plan view of one form of the trussed unit bar or frame prior to the bending thereof for use. Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the same after it has been hunt. f Fig. 1iis an end view of the same, arranged in a mold or form, which latter is shown in section. Fig. 5 is a plan view of a different form of unit bar or frame, prior to the bending of the parts thereof. Fig. 6 is an elevation of a trussed bar or frame produced from the form shown in Fig. 5. is a modification of the latter. Fig.

lan view of still another form, prior to bending of the arts thereof.

The same re erence character designates the same part in the several views.

The advantages of the unit bars or frames over the prior reinforcements in concrete and metal constructions and the peculiar advantages resulting from the use of such unit bars or frames, when of the trussed type, are sufliciently well known to render it unnecessary to enlarge upon the same herein.

In carrying out my invention, Ifirst roduce What maybe termed a primary b ank A consisting of rodsor bars a, a, a, a, connected by webs c and a. of thin or sheet metal. The webs a are or may be quite narrow, as

.shown, while the web 0. is much wider. The

webs a occupy positions approximately perpendicular-with the Web a and each connects at its side of the frame a bar a with a bar a, while the web 11 connects together the barsa at the opposite sides of the frame. Thus, each bar a, occupies a position above and contiguous to the bar a at its side of the frame.

To form the frame I cut the webs a. on predetermined lines to permit the bending of the ends of the bars a to planes above that occupied by them in the blank, and I out the web a transversely to produce arms .or ele ments at cc which connect the two sides of the frame with each other. These elements a a are ada ted to be bent to form stirrups or straps w rich are of loop 'form and open downward and are adapted to inclose and rest upon the main portion oftheconcrete and to engage the concrete with their flat surfaces. They constitute the shearv elements in the completed bar. The webs c may further be cut on lines which produceears adapted to be bent to form centering lugs by which the frame is positioned in the mold. After the blank has been cut it is subjected to conipression in a suitable machine, whereby its sides are brought together and'the strips or elements or, as, are bent upward. Prior to or after this operation, or possibly during the same, the ends of the bars a which have.

been severed from the webs a. are bent upward to the'position which they occupy 1n the finished unit bar or frame.

It will be understood that as thus far described, there has been produced what for convenience will be termed a unit frame composed of similar sides connected by loops or stirrups and with all of its members integral.

The sides of the frame consist of rods or bars a and c the former constitutin the intermediate the parts 1, connected with the contiguous portion of the rod or bar a by the intervening unsevered portion of the weba The inclined portions 1, 1, resist the combined tensile and shearing stresses which produce diagonal cracks near the supports of the girder or beam.

The loops or stirrups constituting the shear members of the unit frame, may be variously formed, of various shapes, and arranged at any suitable, varying or otherwise, distance from each other. It is desirable that they .be placed closer together near the-supports than at the center of the beam or girder, for

the reason that the shearing stresses are' maximum at the first named place. On the right of 2, for illustration, 1 have shown the strips from which the stirrup is to be made, spaced closer together at the ends than at the center of the beam.

The shape, arrangement and number of the cuts made in the Web a will, of, course, depend upon the shape and arrangement of the loops or stirrups to be produced which, as already stated, may be varied without departing from the s irit and scope of the invention. emplifying some of the various forms which may be em 10 ed without departing from the spirit of tfie invention: F1gs. 2 and '3 show a construction in which the web a is cut to produce at each side of its longitudinal center, a series of connecting strips as, as, each of which is approximately V form. As here shown, the strips at one side of the center of the frame have their apices pointing in the 0p osite direction from those at the other si' e thereof. When the sides of theframe are compressed toward each other, these stri s are bent into the form shown in Fig. 3, ant form the shear members I) ofthe frame.

In the form illustrated, the shear members at one side of the longitudinal center of the unit frame. are parallel with each other and are inclined towards the right from the tension members, While those at the other side of the longitudinal center of the frame similarly are parallel with each other and are inclined towards the left from the tension members, but as has already been fully indicated, this arrangement of the parts may be varied to suit different conditions of use or individual preferences of the architect or user, by arranging all of the shear members parallel with each other, ,or by extending them at different Thus, re eri'ing'to the drawings ex-v angles with relation to each other and the tension members, or in any other practical manner, all without departing from the sec )e and spirit of the invention. The lines of t e cut of the web a further are such as to produce at desired points, ears or projections y, some of which are bent downward to form supporting devices 0 and others of which are bent laterally to form centering devices 0'.

ment in the girder or beam is assured without requiring special attention on the part of the workman, or the provision of the separately formed bolts which hitherto have been proposed to secure an accurate positioning of the reinforcement in the mold and to prevent its position beingdisturbed by the tamping of the concrete around the same.

In the form shown in Fig. 5, the lines of cut in the web of the blank are such as to produce a series of parallel transversely ex tending strips at and a longitudinal strip 90, which intersects the transverse strips at the transverse centeirof the frame. As shown in Fig. 6, when the sides of this blank are subjected to suitable'compression, the strips will be bent to form a shear member consisting of a series of arms I) which converge from the sides of the frame and are joined with each other and braced by a longitudinal strip 7) extending throughout the length of the frame along the top of the shearmember.

If'it be desired that the elements of the shear member extend at an inclination with respect to the longitudinal center of the unit frame, and that the inclination thereof on one side of said ceht'er be opposite that of those on the other, it is only necessary to sever the longitudinal strip at at the center of the frame, whereby the. arms 6 may be forced towards the ends of-the frame,as

shown in Fig. 7.

In the form shown in Fig. 8, triangular parts are removed from the web to produce in th. same. a series of diagonally extending strips m and 90 It will be apparent that when these strips are bent up to form the shear members of the frame, said shear members, viewed from either longitudinal side of the frame, will present a connected series of inclined arms extending alternately in reverse directions.

From the foregoing-the advantages of the invention will be readily apparent and it will also be understood that many forms other than those herein set forth, and many apparently widely different variations of the mvention may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention, for which reason, as already fully stated, the forms of theinvention herein described, orshown in the accompanying drawings, shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense. While I have shown the different elements of the construction integral,-yet it is to be understood that any other suitable way of fixedly uniting these elements will be fairly within the spirit and scope of my invention and claims. I desire it also to be understood that the language used in the following claims is intended to cover all of the generic and specific features of the invention herein described, and all statements or matter relating to or bearing upon the scope of the invention, which as a matter of language, might be said to fall therebetween.

Having described the invention what I believe to be new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In a unitary reinforcement means for a concrete or cementitious body,.the combination with main longitudinal reinforcing bars or tension members arranged on each side thereof, of an open web connecting the same and constituting a series of arched shear members extending transversely from the tension members and connected at their crowns by a longitudinal strip, said shear members and strip all engaging flatwise the main body of the concrete.

2. In a unitary reinforcing means for a concrete or cementitious'body, the combina tion with main longitudinal reinforcing bars or tension members arranged on each side thereof, of an open web integral with the said tension members connecting the same and formed to constitute a series of arched shear 40 members extending transversely from the tension members and longitudinally extending strip connecting the crowns of the arche'd .members, said shear members and strip all engaging flatwise the main body of the concrete.

3. In a unitary reinforcing frame for a concrete or cementitious body, the combination with a plurality of main longitudinal bars at each side thereof, arranged in different horizontal lanes and connected with each other throng out a portion only of their length, of an open web connecting the lower bars with each other and constituting a series ofarched shear members which extend transversely of the frame and engage flatwise the main body of the concrete.

4. In a unitary reinforcing frame for a concrcte or cementitious body, the wmhination with a plurality of main longitudinal bars at each side thereof, arranged in different hori zontal planes and provided with an integral web Which connect with each other the. bars at the respective sides, each end of one bar at each side of the frame bent upward, of an integral open web connecting the lower bars witheach other and constituting a series of arched shear memberswhich extend transversely of the frame and engage llatwisc the main body of the concrete.

5. A'unit frame for reinforcing concrete. and othermaterial, n'1prising longitiu linally extending side members, each provided with rods or bars and a web connecting the rods or bars with each other throughout a portion of the length thereof, the ends of one of said rods or bars bent divergently'to a plane above said web; and a series of straps extending transversely of the frame and having their ends fixedly connected to the side members, said straps being so disposed as to be adapted to encircle the main portion of the concrete and to support the frame therefrom and have a flatwise engagement therewith.

-6. A unit frame for reinforcing concrete and other material, comprising longitudinally extending side members, each providedv with rods or bars and a web connecting the rods or bars with each other throughout a portion of the length thereof, the ends of.one of said rods or bars bent diver-gently to a plane above said web; a series of straps extending transversely of the frame and having their ends fixedly connected to the side members, said straps being so disposed as to be adapted to encircle the main portion of the concrete and to support the frame therefrom and have a flatwise engagement there with, and a longitudinal arm connecting the. transverse arms with each other between their ends.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand at the city, county and State of New York, this 21st day of February, 1907.

. JULIAN O. ELLINGER.

In presence of JAS. E. PAYNE, A. NAMUR. 

